Taxes Tax Planning What Is Form 1099-G? By Robin Hartill Updated on January 9, 2023 Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She has been in the accounting, audit, and tax profession for more than 13 years, working with individuals and a variety of companies in the health care, banking, and accounting industries. learn about our financial review board Fact checked by Daniel Rathburn Fact checked by Daniel Rathburn Daniel Rathburn is an associate editor at The Balance. He has over three years of experience working in print and digital media as a fact-checker and editor. Daniel holds a bachelor's degree in English and political science from Michigan State University. learn about our editorial policies In This Article View All In This Article How Does Form 1099-G Work? Who Uses Form 1099-G? Where To Get a Form 1099-G What To Do if You Don't Receive a Form 1099-G How To File Form 1099-G Other Types of Form 1099 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Photo: mediaphotos / Getty Images Definition Form 1099-G, officially titled Certain Government Payments, is a type of 1099 form that’s used to report some types of income you receive from the government. One of the most common reasons for receiving a 1099-G is that you received unemployment compensation. Key Takeaways Form 1099-G is a type of 1099 form that's used to report certain government payments, most commonly unemployment benefits and state or local tax refunds.If you get a Form 1099-G, you need to use it when you prepare your tax return.Most people who receive this type of income will receive this form in the mail.You're still responsible for filing a tax return by April 15, 2022, even if you haven't received your 1099-G. How Does Form 1099-G Work? Form 1099-G, officially titled Certain Government Payments, is a type of 1099 form that's used to report some types of income you receive from the government—the "G" stands for government. One of the most common reasons for receiving a 1099-G is that you received jobless compensation. Note If you received unemployment benefits, you have to pay taxes on them. A recent Jackson Hewitt survey found that 39% of people didn't know that unemployment benefits are taxable. Another scenario where you could receive Form 1099-G is when you received a state or local tax refund, credit, or offset. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll owe taxes—you'll only need to report that money on your tax return if you received a federal tax deduction for paying those taxes in a previous year. IRS Who Uses Form 1099-G? Federal, state, and local governments file this form when they make payments for: Unemployment compensationState or local income tax refunds, credits, or offsetsReemployment trade adjustment assistance paymentsTaxable grantsAgricultural payments If you received any of the forms of income listed above from the government, you'll receive a Form 1099-G. You should expect a separate form from each agency that made a payment. Note Early in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that 13.3 million people were unable to find work. By December, that fell to 6.9 million unemployed, but in spite of the drop, all taxpayers who received government assistance in 2021 will likely receive Form 1099-G in 2022. Where To Get a Form 1099-G If you didn't receive payments from the government that could count as taxable income, you shouldn't receive a 1099-G. But most taxpayers who received such payments can expect to receive Form 1099-G in the mail. You may also be able to view and download the form online, depending on the state or agency. Forms are usually sent out by the end of January. Note If you receive a 1099-G form for unemployment benefits you didn't receive, you could be the victim of identity theft. Report the potential fraud to the state agency that paid the benefits and follow its instructions. What To Do if You Don't Receive a Form 1099-G If you received unemployment benefits or other income that would be reported on a 1099-G but haven't received the form, contact the agency that made the payment. You may be able to access your form online, or the agency may provide other instructions. However, if you were unable to access the information by the April 15 tax deadline, you're still responsible for filing a tax return. You can estimate the payments made to you, as well as any taxes that were withheld. If you receive the missing information after you've filed and discover a discrepancy, you'll need to file an amended tax return. How To File Form 1099-G You won't need to file Form 1099-G along with your tax return, but you will use the information included on this form to file your taxes. Using tax filing software is typically the best way to ensure your return is accurate. You'll enter the information from Form 1099-G, along with any other tax forms you received, and the software will calculate how much of your income is taxable and whether you owe taxes. Once you've filed your return, store Form 1099-G with your other tax records. As with all tax records, you'll want to hold onto the form for a minimum of three years. Note If you discover that you owe taxes but can't afford to pay them, file a tax return anyway and ask for an IRS payment plan. Other Types of Form 1099 A 1099 form is used to report income that you don't receive from an employer. While receiving a 1099 form doesn't necessarily mean that you owe money on that income, it's essential that you use the information it contains when you prepare your tax return. The form includes your Social Security number or employee tax identification, so the IRS will know you received the income. Some common types of 1099 forms include: Form 1099-A, Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property You'll receive Form 1099-A if you owned property that was foreclosed on. Your lender will mail you the form, and you'll have to treat the foreclosure as a capital gain or loss. 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt If you had debt that was forgiven or canceled, it will count as taxable income. You'll receive Form 1099-C from each creditor that forgave a balance of $600 or more. 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions Form 1099-DIV is used to report dividends and capital gains during the tax year, and you'll only receive one if you earned dividends or gains in a taxable account. 1099-INT, Interest Income You'll receive Form 1099-INT if you received interest payments of more than $10 from your bank or credit union. 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income You'll receive a 1099-MISC if you received various sources of income, such as incentive payments if you're a salesperson, prizes or awards, jury duty payments, or taxable damages from a lawsuit. The form is also used to report rents paid, medical and attorney payments, and various transactions pertaining to agriculture and fishing. Prior to 2020, companies often used this form to report payments to freelancers and independent contractors. 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation In 2020, the IRS started using Form 1099-NEC instead of Form 1099-MISC for companies reporting nonemployee compensation. If you're a freelancer or an independent contractor, you'll receive Form 1099-NEC from any company that paid you more than $600. 1099-R, Retirement Distributions Form 1099-R is used to report distributions of $10 or more from retirement accounts. You'll receive a Form 1099-R when any distribution occurs, even if it's not a taxable event. 1099-SSA, Social Security The Social Security Administration sends a 1099-SSA to all benefit recipients with the total amount of Social Security benefits they received for the year. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) How do I know if I need to file Form 1099-G? If you received at least $10 of government aid in the form of unemployment benefits, or any credits, agricultural payments, or adjustments or offsets to your state of local tax refunds from years prior, you will need to report it on your taxes with a Form 1099-G. Form 1099-G will also apply if you received at least $600 from a taxable grant or from the Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance program (RTAA). When will I get my 1099-G? You should receive it in the mail by the end of January. If you haven't received it by then, contact the payor or the funds to request a form or ask a tax professional for assistance. What do I do with the Form 1099-G once I receive it? You'll use this form to help calculate your gross income when you file taxes. Box 1 provides any unemployment benefits you received, to be reported in your total income on Form 1040. Box 2 contains information about state or local tax adjustments or refunds. Other boxes on the form pertain to specific forms of government aid, and all can be input into your 1040 per the instructions provided. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Internal Revenue Service. "About Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments." Accessed Dec. 19, 2021. Jackson Hewitt. "Top 3 Tax Tips for Unemployment Benefits." Accessed Dec. 19, 2021. Internal Revenue Service. "Instructions for Form 1099-G (2021)." Accessed Dec. 19, 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Employment Situation News Release, March 5, 2021." Accessed Dec. 19, 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Employment Situation News Release, December 3, 2021." Accessed Dec. 19, 2021. Internal Revenue Service. "About Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt." Accessed Dec. 19, 2021. Internal Revenue Service. "Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (2020)." Accessed Dec. 19, 2021. Internal Revenue Service. "Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (2021)." Accessed Dec. 19, 2021.